Well it's been a busy and exiting few weeks. I've been road tripping round Spain with some mates who've now flown home for work and left me to drive the car back - good blokes! On my own in Granada now with time to reflect. All in all we've had quite a mix:

We've bivvied in the Pyrenees and the Atlas Mountains (France/Spain border and Morocco for the uneducated!), taking the car up some of the roughest mountain tracks a Vauxhall Astra's ever been up, heading for ridge lines and hill tops to sleep where only the local shepherds go. Sleeping out under the stars again has been the most refreshing experience of the trip, trying to ignore the eiary sounds of strange wild animals. Our reward has been stunning sunsets and magnificent views. We even met a local goat herder who stumbled upon one of our impromptu camps and shared our dinner of pasta and tomato sauce. In our universal sign language he tried to invite us back to his village to sample some of his 'special' tobacco.

If sleeping in the open has been the most refreshing experience then swimming in the sea has been the most satisfying. We've dipped in the waters of the Atlantic, from San Sebastian to the Portuguese Algarve, and of the Mediterranean, from Morocco to Alicante . My stroke has improved 10 fold and I've managed to free dive down to a modest depth of 5 meters. It was only when I finally gave in to the nagging demands of Jonny and Tim to allow them to piggy back me across the beach that I could really start enjoying long swims out to buoys and islands off the coast. However friendship has its limits and it seems that a handful of tiny jellyfish were in this case!

The hand bike's seen action all over, being admired by the puzzled locals wherever we went. Never more so than during a pub crawl in Salamanca where we cycled from bar to bar, having drinks outside, with my chair towed behind me. It proved a good ice breaker and soon we had a procession of friends with us.

We've partied all over, in good Spanish style, but failing to keep up with the locals who can drink till dawn every night. The Spanish, and all the other mix continental tourists and students that we have met at various places have been very friendly. Probably the most diverse group we have spent the night with was English, French and Swedish, in a great open air night club in Seville .

We've sampled the magnificent architecture and fascinating history of some of the finest Spanish cities, and seen the stark contrast of the British Tour Package on the Costa Del Sol .

What we have not done, even for one night, is stay in a hotel. We have got by sleeping under the stars, booking into campsites and staying at a couple of houses belonging to relatives and friends when we needed a bath and a bed. In places it's been hard going in the chair; many many cobbles, steps, inaccessible buildings, beaches, finding loos and showers, to say but a few, but it's really not seemed that tough. With a little patience things have worked out fine. In many ways I'm now having my toughest test of the trip.

I'm alone, sight seeing in Granada and sleeping out the back of the car in remote spots in the Sierra Nivada Mountains . It's wonderfully exiting being alone again after having people pampering round me for the last 12 months, but perhaps a little daunting at times - like having to reverse through a car park ticket terminal to take a ticket because it was on the wrong side of the car and I could not reach across...!!

I visited the Alhambra yesterday, one of Europe 's most stunning and historically significant building complexes. It is an ancient palace fort, built into the side of a hill on the outskirts of Granada , perfectly preserved and attracting 30, 000 visitors a day. Hard work on the arms pushing up the steep cobbled streets!

On Friday my Mother is flying out for a break and we are meeting Paul and Nicci at Nantes Airport on Sunday to cycle through the Loire Valley in France . Paul and I that is!! The ladies are going to be the base support crew, driving the car and putting our tents up for us - I hope!!

I will be back in the UK in mid September after a brief visit to Boston to meet the chap who will be building my hand mountain bike for the Kili ascent next summer. I have to watch my weight as I'll be measured up for it and need to save weight on frame size..!!!

Anyway, I've bored you all plenty for one update. I'll write of my adventures from the Loire in due course.

Jimmy.